


Going In

by tuesday



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24516166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesday/pseuds/tuesday
Summary: It was an objective fact: the Kazekage was hot.
Relationships: Gaara (Naruto)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 51
Collections: Original Characters & Original Works Flash Exchange May 2020





	Going In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NekoMida](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoMida/gifts).



It was an objective fact: the Kazekage was hot. Super hot. Extremely hot. The absolute hottest.

It wasn't just his build, which was exactly as good as one would expect of the best shinobi of their generation. It wasn't just his hair, which gleamed an extremely fetching shade of red in the right light. It wasn't just his personality, which had toned down from its previous murderous aura into something that read as mellow, but still willing to cut a person if it became necessary. It was the whole package.

"You're drooling," Yui said dryly.

"Fuck off," Akiko said, not even looking at her friend and teammate, because right there in front of them was a much better view.

Gaara was facing off against ten people at once, sand cutting through the air to lazily slap down each and every challenger. No one got close.

"Right." Akiko nodded to herself. "I'm going in."

"Your funeral." Yui waved her off and stayed firmly out of the scrum of guards helping Gaara train.

Maybe that was the smarter decision, but Akiko was going to wear her sand burns with pride.

When it was over and Gaara called a halt to the exercise, he came up to everyone who had done their level best to attack him and thanked them individually with an adorably serious expression.

"It was my pleasure," Akiko said. "Seriously, any time you want to be menaced with kunai by a mob that can't get within three meters of you, please call on me." She gave her best flirtatious smile. "And if you want to get menaced a lot closer up on a more personal basis, I would be very open to that, too."

A small, confused line appeared between Gaara's eyebrows. He said, "Thank you for your service. I'll keep that in mind."

No, he wouldn't. Like the countless others who shamelessly threw themselves at him, Gaara didn't appear to have realized that Akiko was flirting at all. Akiko sighed, somewhere between satisfaction and discontent, maybe both at once, when Gaara moved on to the next person. She hated to see him go, but loved to watch him leave.

"I don't know how you manage to be an effective guard when you spend all your time staring at his ass." Yui was, as ever, zero help.

—

Guarding the Kazekage was a pretty boring job, actually. The sort of threat that could cause him trouble was also the sort of threat that would see any actual guards pasted. Gaara could and would take care of himself, as well as everyone around him, regardless of which way that situation was supposed to go.

Mostly they were there as decoration. They didn't even get to run errands, because Gaara had people for that, too. It simultaneously gave a person a lot of time to think and didn't let them, because even if it they were the most redundant guards possible (at least the Hokage would pull his guards into his various shenanigans), they were still supposed to concentrate on their jobs.

But Akiko found it really, really hard to quit when it included moments like this. It was a quiet night. She was paying close attention to the chakra signatures of those around them and doing her best to remain unobtrusive, just part of the scenery, as Gaara filled out paperwork at his desk. He approached each form with an almost meditative calm. Since he'd lost the Ichibi, he didn't stay up through the night as often as she'd heard he did before, but he continued to approach his work with a single-minded and unwavering focus and worked long past when the average shinobi or kunoichi would have gone home.

Soon one of those kunoichi would be Akiko. Shift change was coming up soon.

During the hand-off, normally a wordless affair in which Akiko confirmed the identity of her replacement and slipped away right after without the Kazekage ever seeming to notice, Gaara's usual steadfast concentration broke. He looked over at Akiko and gestured her over before she could make good on the slipping away part.

Confused, but willing enough, Akiko walked over to his desk and stood at attention.

In a soft voice, Gaara said, "I was wondering if your offer to spar remained open."

It hadn't quite been an offer to spar, but Akiko said, "Sure! It would be my pleasure."

"Now?" Gaara asked.

Akiko had planned to go home and take a long bath, then fall face-first into bed. It had been a good plan, but it couldn't compare to what was on offer. "Now is good. Now is great, actually."

"Good."

Gaara tidied his paperwork away, while behind them, Akiko could practically feel the sheer "what the fuck" energy Yui was giving off. Akiko did her best to keep her own surprise off her face and out of her posture.

"So just to be clear," Akiko said, because she couldn't help herself, "is this a date?"

"Do you want it to be?" Gaara asked calmly.

"Would it being a date mean you went easy on me?" Akiko asked.

"No." The word was spoken without a moment's hesitation.

"Then yes." Akiko couldn't help her wide grin. "I want it to be."

—

Akiko was a good ninja. She was fast, skilled, strong, and handy with both a kunai and tantou. Her wind jutsu was adequate for a jounin, and her earth jutsu was fantastic.

She got her ass kicked.

It was the best date she'd ever had.

—

Akiko stared up at the night sky, not quite up to standing yet. Her pulse thundered in her ears, and her breathing was more a series of gasps. Gaara hovered nearby. He didn't come close, probably cautious of another attempt to lure him in. Akiko's face hurt, both from the sand burns and the wild grin stretched across her face.

"Yield," Akiko said after a moment. She sat up slowly as Gaara alighted on the ground in a smooth, graceful motion, the sand swirling around him calming and either settling to the ground around him or siphoning back into the gourd on his back.

"This was nice," Gaara said. He held out a hand, and she took it, levering herself back to her feet.

"Very nice." Akiko thought about it a moment, then decided she'd only gotten this far by pushing her luck. Might as well go all the way. "But it could be nicer."

Gaara tilted his head slightly, waiting, and instead of explaining, Akiko reached out and, every move telegraphed, pressed their mouths together. Gaara's lips were gritty for a moment, then the sand armor flowed away, and his lips were chapped, but far more pleasant against her own.


End file.
